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Sonos doesn't want us to choose what to listen to

  • 25 May 2024
  • 7 replies
  • 108 views

It's becoming clear that based on the past few updates, Sonos does not want its users to choose what to listen to.

1. They removed the ability to add anything to the queue. 

2. They removed the ability to play from your local library (definitely on Mac, not sure about Windows).

3. Did they also remove voice controls? I thought I heard this, but maybe I misunderstood. 

These things all point to one thing: they don't want you choosing your own music. They want streaming services to be the only convenient way to listen to music without interruption. 

I assume this is intentional and they are pushing people to streaming/radio services because they get a financial incentive of some kind based on the number of users. It's too consistent to be anything but deliberate. 

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7 replies

Bumper

Come on man. Sonos screwed up. But they say they will bring back queue controls. They haven’t removed local libraries. I mean they screwed this up as well, making this change in the middle of the app chaos without communicating this as well as they could, but saying it’s gone for good is not true. 

C
Userlevel 1
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I realize it sounds a bit paranoid, but there's a clear pattern to these "mistakes". 

Anyone with half a brain would have known that the app update they released wasn't ready, yet they did it anyway. It really feels like a concerted effort to remove choice. 

Or maybe I'm just really cranky because I haven't been listening to much music lately because it's such a PITA. 

jgatie

I realize it sounds a bit paranoid, but there's a clear pattern to these "mistakes". 

Anyone with half a brain would have known that the app update they released wasn't ready, yet they did it anyway. It really feels like a concerted effort to remove choice. 

Or maybe I'm just really cranky because I haven't been listening to much music lately because it's such a PITA. 

 

It’s not that complicated, nor nefarious.  New hardware was promised to investors by the end of the fiscal year, and the suits made the decision to keep that promise, regardless of the app supporting that hardware being half-baked.  Stop thinking the sinister when the stupid will do, especially when the suits are involved.

C
Userlevel 1
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Investors are precisely the reason I think it's intentional. If there is a financial incentive associated with the various streaming platforms, forcing users over to those temporarily would show increased revenue. The obvious downside is the insane backlash going on right now, but investors never care about long term consequences. 

jgatie

Investors are precisely the reason I think it's intentional. If there is a financial incentive associated with the various streaming platforms, forcing users over to those temporarily would show increased revenue. The obvious downside is the insane backlash going on right now, but investors never care about long term consequences. 

 

But there isn’t “financial incentive associated with the various streaming platforms”.  The terms of Sonos’ Music Partners program are transparent and online.  There are no financial obligations to join, any music service can submit their interface to Sonos’ SMAPI API integration for free.  The only fees ever charged are for commercial services which are used through the Sonos Pro system used by businesses. 

https://docs.sonos.com/docs/content-service-get-started

 

C
Userlevel 1
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I didn't know that, thanks. 

With the increased focus on user data these days and the fact that nothing on the Internet is really free, I assume any time user data is changing hands that there is also an exchange of money behind the scenes. 

J
Badge +1

I agree, i have no interest in listening to sonos radio, but i cant remove it from a homescreen that was apparently designed to give me quicker and easier access to the content and services i want. Searching constantly includes results from sonos radio whats the point in searching through something i dont need or want it to :/ 

Finally recently played also cant be removed, i open the app and its like you played this you played that go play it again. While this feature is useful, id prefer to use that space for something else, it shouldnt be forced. The entire homescreen content area should be fully customizable with content/services i actually want and use. 

Note: i rolled back to S2 and didnt spend longer than 2 minutes with the new update so maybe some of this is possible and i missed it.

 

 

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